Advertisement
Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price signed off on a plan to empower Australians to switch off their social media algorithms two years ago, but now claims Labor is clamping down on feeds because the government is unpopular.
The Coalition formally rejected Labor’s Digital Duty of Care bill during a joint party room meeting on Thursday morning, with Opposition Leader Angus Taylor citing fears over curbs to free speech, political censorship, and concerns about the extent of ministerial powers.
Alongside three other Liberal MPs, Sarah Henderson, Zoe McKenzie, and former shadow attorney-general Andrew Wallace, Price endorsed the recommendations of the “Social Media: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” report in November 2024, which included the right of users to switch off algorithms.
“It has been made abundantly clear to Coalition members through the evidence heard during this inquiry that the unregulated nature of social media has resulted in a significant power inequity between platforms and users,” Price and other MPs wrote at the time.
Advertisement
“We recommend that government require social media companies to provide easily accessible features for users to control or reset their recommender systems … Features would favour the ability for a consumer to opt in or out of recommended content.”
But speaking to journalists after Labor unveiled its digital duty of care legislation on Tuesday, Price said the government’s move was “absolutely” politically motivated.
“The prime minister is not very popular at the moment, and neither are his ministers … this [change] is absolutely because this government feels like these algorithms aren’t working in their favour,” she said.
When asked whether she thought there were “any problems” with algorithms, Price said there was an issue of “transparency”.
On Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Wells launched draft legislation for a digital duty of care, cracking down on addictive algorithms and threatening tech platforms with $100 million fines for facilitating harm against Australians.
Advertisement
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, Nationals leader Matt Canavan and Henderson held a press conference on Thursday morning in which they labelled the bill an attempt to “protect politicians” rather than the public.
“It’s a political censorship bill … It is a blank check for political censorship, and so we just don’t see a bill here that we can support,” Taylor said.
Labor is seeking to pass the bill by the end of the year, and will likely receive support from the Greens. Asked why he was rejecting the bill wholesale instead of negotiating with the government, Taylor said: “That’s a matter for Labor”.
In the proposed legislation, the threshold for harm seen by adults will be criminal content, though the threshold will be lower for under-16s, with the government listing six areas of harm including content that promotes criminal activity and eating disorders.
Advertisement
“The fact that some Coalition MPs came out against the bill before they even saw it just shows they will continue to put politics and platforms before parents and kids,” Wells told this masthead.
“Instead of trying to appease One Nation, sensible members of the Coalition should back better protections for Australian children online and give adults choice over what they see.”
Price’s office was contacted for comment.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.
Remove items from your saved list to add more.
More:
Nick Newling is a federal politics reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.AdvertisementAdvertisement